Do you love your family ornaments, but also love the look of a designer Christmas tree?

I’m here to tell you that it is possible to have both!

Here is a simple guide teaching how-to create a beautiful designer Christmas tree that INCLUDES family ornaments.

The best of both worlds right?

The Basics of Decorating a Christmas Tree

My mom was a master at creating a beautiful Christmas tree.

I’ve now taken over that tradition and use the skills she taught me long ago.

When we look at the basic elements of decorating a Christmas tree, it’s really simple.

The rest of the decor pieces are add-ons to make it more of a designer tree.

To show you what I mean, here are a couple of trees from my home that are considered designer trees.

They don’t contain ANY family ornaments and the trees functions more as decor than anything.

These types of Christmas trees are more for SHOW and not SENTIMENT.

Because of the location this isn’t our primary family tree, but a pretty tree to make the dining room more festive when we eat our holiday meals.

You can see in the close up I’ve used ribbon and picks to add a designer element.

Clearly I favor white lights and also a pre-lit tree too 🙂

How-to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Family Ornaments

Seriously, this is an easy guide to follow and you will be surprised at the simplicity of my mom’s formula.

The core of this formula can be used to create a designer Christmas tree too!

It’s a 5 step process and then you add your family ornaments in between.

Easy right?

Creating a simple base of well spaced ornaments, in simple colors, paves the way for family ornaments and a beautiful tree!
Porch Daydreamer

Here is our family tree with a TON of family ornaments collected over many years.

See it can look beautiful even with the craziest ornaments you have that remind you of all those great Christmas memories!

Yield: Christmas Tree

Simple instructions anyone can follow for a well designed Christmas tree with family ornaments.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Active Time 1 hour

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost Variable

If you have an artificial tree, fluff all branches to remove as many gaps and spaces as possible.
Add your primary solid colored Christmas ornaments. I try to use 3 inch diameter ornaments. Space them evenly starting at the top working your way to the bottom.
Add the 2nd set of solid color shiny Christmas ornaments. Filling in between the first color spacing them evenly throughout using the same process.
Using icicle ornaments for movement add them spaced evenly to the tips of the branches spaced evenly around the tree.
If you have a large tree that can hold more ornaments, add the 3rd set of ornaments preferably ones with glitter! Filling in between existing ornaments using the same process starting at the top working toward the bottom.
Finally, add all of your fun family ornaments where you see gaps of green. They will already be perfectly spaced between all of the foundational ornaments!
Enjoy your beautiful tree with all of the family ornaments!

In my example I've used blue, gold and silver. Any three colors can be used that work together.
The icicle ornaments add a special touch and movement to the tree, but aren't required. They are my favorite ornaments.
Finish the tree with a coordinating tree topper and tree skirt.